Homey Rugs, Putting on a Floor Show
A big contender for this year's hot-picks list has to be a Dash & Albert woven rug. They have been showing up in virtually every home magazine in the past few months as stair runners, in kids' rooms, by kitchen sinks and under dining tables. Affordable (less than $200 for a 6-by-9-foot) and cheery (plaids and stripes), the flat cotton rugs evoke the Eastern Shore, Nantucket and an old house near the beach.
"We've definitely had an impact on the rug business," said Annie Selke, the owner of four-year-old Dash & Albert. In the early days, the rugs got a publicity boost from Real Simple magazine, which featured them on its cover and inside pages. "They gave us a ton of exposure," Selke said, "and put us on the map."
This month, Dash & Albert began selling indoor-outdoor rugs made of polypropylene. They are more expensive than the cotton versions ($288 for a 6-by-9) and available in fewer patterns. But Selke said they pass any durability test -- inside or out.
The all-weather versions were tested for nine months by messy children and drooling dogs, and with gloppy substances such as peanut butter, yogurt and ketchup. If you get one for the dining room that won't fit in the washing machine, Selke recommends just taking it outside and hosing it down. She said she has put one in her mudroom and another in her daughter's bedroom in the family's house in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts, where her company is based.
Selke also owns Pine Cone Hill, a furniture and bedding company, and Potluck Studios, a tableware and furniture company.
The rugs have one clear downside: Dash&Albert does not offer shopping by catalogue or computer. In this area, the only place to buy them is at Urban Country in Bethesda. For more information, visit http://www.dashandalbertrugs.com or call 800-442-8157.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/23/AR2007052300372.html
"We've definitely had an impact on the rug business," said Annie Selke, the owner of four-year-old Dash & Albert. In the early days, the rugs got a publicity boost from Real Simple magazine, which featured them on its cover and inside pages. "They gave us a ton of exposure," Selke said, "and put us on the map."
This month, Dash & Albert began selling indoor-outdoor rugs made of polypropylene. They are more expensive than the cotton versions ($288 for a 6-by-9) and available in fewer patterns. But Selke said they pass any durability test -- inside or out.
The all-weather versions were tested for nine months by messy children and drooling dogs, and with gloppy substances such as peanut butter, yogurt and ketchup. If you get one for the dining room that won't fit in the washing machine, Selke recommends just taking it outside and hosing it down. She said she has put one in her mudroom and another in her daughter's bedroom in the family's house in the Berkshires of western Massachusetts, where her company is based.
Selke also owns Pine Cone Hill, a furniture and bedding company, and Potluck Studios, a tableware and furniture company.
The rugs have one clear downside: Dash&Albert does not offer shopping by catalogue or computer. In this area, the only place to buy them is at Urban Country in Bethesda. For more information, visit http://www.dashandalbertrugs.com or call 800-442-8157.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/23/AR2007052300372.html
Labels: area rugs, carpet, modern wool area rugs, natural area rugs, non wool area rugs
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